Understimation
by Mitchie Love
Summary: A Hufflepuff reflects on how being in this house is actually honorable and possibly even better than Gryffindor, Slytherin and Ravenclaw combined. ONESHOT.


**I don't know how this came out. But I was thinking about this today. There really isn't a specific character in the book who is speaking, just a random Hufflepuff.**

**The reason I wanted to write this was because Hufflepuffs are always overlooked and ironically being an accepting community, the other houses look down on them. Think about it. It does take courage to be loyal and hard-working. Remember, this is also a character, not me speaking. Even if it's not a certain character in the book. **

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><p>Hufflepuff. Loser. They might as well be a synonym for each other. When someone wants to diss you, they tell you you're as useless as a Hufflepuff. No one wants to be a Hufflepuff. Well, not anyone I know anyway. See, it's something about how some of us are uncoordinated and the fact we tend to treat everyone equally instead of looking at what they can do. Okay, so maybe in some people's books (particularly Slytherin), we are pathetic.<p>

Well, you don't ever hear someone say, "Hey, I wish I was a Hufflepuff!" or "Hey, maybe the best choice would be Hufflepuff."

Even the name. It sounds so fluffy. And everything we stand for is supposedly corny. We could have traits that anyone in Gryffindor could have, or even Ravenclaw.

You ask a young wizard (or a muggle who is absolutely sure that their letter to Hogwarts got lost in the mail) and they will tell you they want to be a Gryffindor or a Slytherin. If not, they say that Ravenclaw wouldn't be so bad.

Then, you ask them, "What about Hufflepuffs?" What do they say? They tell that they are pathetic and nobody likes them.

Seriously, why must everyone overlook the fact that we Hufflepuffs actually _do_ stand for something? To be honest, us Hufflepuffs could even stand for everything that Gryffindor, Slytherin and Ravenclaw do combined. We just tend to have qualities we value above include people. Maybe that's why they don't want to be us. They want to be included in something that they know not everyone is. They want to feel like they can be special. So, us Hufflepuffs are not special? In everyone's eyes: no, we're not special at all.

Yes, I do admit that maybe I did want to be a Gryffindor at some point. It would make me feel special. Like I can do anything because they stand for courage instead of loyalty, nerve instead of being fair. Because it's like some sort of exclusive club.

When you have no attributes that make you stand out, they act like you should be placed in Hufflepuff. Since we accept everybody. It's the place where you go if you're not special. Ironically, the group that mostly accepts is the group that is least accepted amongst the peers of the school. Surely, Hufflepuff sounds sweet. To be honest, at first I thought it was an adorable cute little fluffy creature. That's when I was young of course. My father used to laugh when I said things like that. My mother used to shake her head.

However, this doesn't mean we have talentless members. I've met Gryffindors that stink at every subject and were sorted into the house because they had the attributes they tend to exhibit. I've met Ravenclaws who are not willing to take risks or go after what they want. Yet, they are still witty and at the top of every class. Have you heard of Hermione Granger? At first, I thought she was a shoe-in for Ravenclaw. The girl was brilliant. Guess where she was placed. Gryffindor.

And Slytherin? They are ambitious, hungry for power. I've also met Ravenclaws or even Gryffindors like that. Actually, a lot of our own Hufflepuffs exhibit traits from each of these.

We had Cedric Gregory. Let me remind you he was the Quidditch captain and brought us glory and became champion of the Triwizard Tournament. See? Not all of us are talentless.

Right after Gryffindor, most people of our house were fighting with Dumbledore's Army.

We have probably the widest range of difference when it comes to talents.

Hufflepuffs are a lot like what the outsiders are in the muggle world. We're understimated. Most of the students here were.

Possibly there are some flaws on not caring about people's talents and not being a little selfish.

But you know what? We accept each other, no matter who we are, what we can do, how horrible we are at what. In our own way, we're all heroes. You can rely on us to help you, be there for you. On top of that, we have the other talents. It takes some courage to be reliable, to be hard-working. When you work your hardest towards something, that means you have a level of ambition in you.

We accept you because you are you. Not because you had to prove yourself to be in our house. Not because you had to like something we do or because you are exactly like us.

Hufflepuffs can be like sidekicks, best friends. Like maybe a supporting role in a movie or play. Sometimes, we just might steal the show. Sometimes, we might not. At least you can't say we ran away the first chance we had. You can't say we never fought at your side.

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><p><strong>I don't mind criticizing as long as I can use it in any way to help my writing. (: But that doesn't mean I let flames take me down. ;D<strong>


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